W&M News and Notes
- W&M and Norfolk State meet for the sixth-straight season. Since 1998, the Tribe is 15-2 against the Spartans, including a 65-56 win in Williamsburg last season. W&M is 8-4 all-time at Norfolk State and won its last trip to Echols Hall, 55-44, in 2018.
- Redshirt junior
Sydney Wagner has been on fire lately. In the last two games, she is averaging 25 points per game. After tallying a then career-high 23 points vs. Navy, she erupted for a new career-high of 27 points, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, in the win at Mason. The six 3-pointers are the ninth-best single-game total in W&M history. Wagner ranks third in the CAA and 63rd nationally in scoring at 19.5 per game. She was a preseason All-CAA honorable mention choice by vote of the league coaches.
- Wagner ranks as one of the top 3-point shooters in not only the CAA but the country this season. Her 3.8 3-pointers made per game leads the league and ranks 15th nationally. She is fourth in the CAA and 66th nationally at 48.4% from 3-point range. Over the last three games, Wagner has been even better from 3-point range, hitting 15-of-26 (57.7%).
- A key to the Tribe's two-game winning streak has been its defense. Over the last two games, the Green and Gold is holding its opponents to 47 points per game and shooting percentage of 32% (33-of-103) from the field and 16.7% (4-of-24) from 3. This season, the Tribe leads the CAA and ranks 30th nationally, limiting its foes to just 22.2% from 3-point range. W&M is holding its opponents to 59 points per game, which ranks third in the CAA and 59th nationally.
- In the victory at George Mason, the Tribe defense was stingy, holding the Patriots to just 43 points on 27.8% shooting and just 1-of-16 (6.3%) from 3-point range. It marked the Tribe's best defensive field goal percentage effort since limiting East Carolina to 25% in 2018, while the 3-point % defense was the best since Elon misfired on all nine of its attempts in 2018. Under head coach
Ed Swanson, the Tribe has held opponents to less than 50 points in 26 games and are 25-1 in those contests. W&M has also held its foes to either zero or one 3-pointer in a game on 21 occasions.
- The Tribe knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers in the victory over Navy. W&M ranks second in the CAA and 89th nationally averaging seven made triples per game. It marked the 15th time under head coach
Ed Swanson that W&M made double-digit 3-pointers in a game, and the Tribe improved to 11-4 in those contests.
- After leading the Tribe with 5.3 rebounds per game last season, senior
Bailey Eichner has picked up right where she left off. She has two double-digit rebounding games this season with a career-high 14 rebounds at ODU and 10 at George Mason. For the second-straight year, Eichner ranks among the CAA leaders in rebounding (fifth at 8.8), blocks (fourth at 1.0) and defensive rebounds (first at 7.3).
- Senior
Nyla Pollard enjoyed a strong home debut in 2020-21 with an impressive stat line of 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals against Richmond. Her scoring output and steals total both equaled career-highs. Pollard ranks among the CAA top 10 in four different categories. She is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.63), ninth in steals (2.0), and 10th in assists (3.3) and free throw % (80.0).
- The Green and Gold will not leave the state of Virginia during the nonconference slate, playing three home games in Kaplan Arena and another three contests on the road against Commonwealth rivals (Old Dominion, George Mason and Norfolk State). The Tribe's six nonconference foes averaged nearly 17 wins a season ago and three of them finished second in their respective leagues.
- W&M is coming off its best season in school history during 2019-20. The Tribe posted school records in wins (21), CAA wins (12) and road wins (11). The team also achieved its highest seed in the CAA Tournament at No. 3. With a final RPI of 104, the Tribe was on the verge of earning a postseason berth to, at least, the WNIT for the first time in the program's history before COVID-19 ended the season.
- W&M head coach
Ed Swanson enjoyed a noteworthy 2019-20 season individually. He was named the CAA Co-Coach of the Year following the Tribe's historic season. Personally, Swanson won his 500th career game on Nov. 26, became just the third coach in W&M history win 100 games with the Tribe on Jan. 12, and was inducted into the Northeast Conference Hall of Fame in January.
- As a team, the Tribe was picked eighth in the preseason standings by vote of the league coaches. JMU was the preseason pick to win the league. Last season, W&M was picked seventh in the preseason before finishing a program-best third in the final league standings with a school-record 12 CAA wins.
- W&M will be down two scholarship players in 2020-21 as senior
Libby Underwood and junior
Eva Hodgson elected to opt out due to COVID-19 concerns. Underwood appeared in 52 career games, while Hodgson was an All-CAA First Team performer in 2019-20, averaging 20.7 points per game.
